“Meditation,” according to the early 20th-century scribe, James Allen, “is the secret of all growth in spiritual life and knowledge.” It is a secret that has spanned cultures and millennia –maybe even pre-dating civilisation itself.
Cave paintings discovered in the Indus Valley, possibly dating as far back as 5,000 BC, show people sitting in the lotus position – legs crossed with hands on their knees – while the earliest writings about mention meditation came from the same region around 3,000 years ago. The practice spread from modern-day India throughout Asia and beyond, with all major religions adopting some form of it.
MEDITATING ON THE BENEFITS
Research concludes those who regularly practise meditation strengthen and even thicken the parts of the brain involved with memory and attention, leading some to argue that ritualistic meditation may even have played a part in separating modern humans from Neanderthals. Studies have shown that after just eight weeks of daily 30-minute meditation sessions, our bodies begin to produce more grey matter – essential for brain health and function.
Other scientifically proven benefits of the practice include improved sleep, mood regulation, a strengthened immune system, reduced stress, and better anxiety management – all things that benefit children as well as adults. So, should – and can – kids actually meditate? Absolutely!
Children that regularly meditate have been shown to have better attention spans as it trains their minds to be less easily distracted. It has also been shown to help kids develop their metacognition – their awareness of their own learning processes, or ‘thinking about thinking’, said to improve techniques for studying. And their personal lives will benefit just as much as their academic ones, increasing their capacity for calmness and self-acceptance – essential skills for navigating those angst-ridden teenage years – while also developing emotional intelligence leading to greater empathy, humility, and resilience.
GETTING KIDS TO BE… AND BREATHE
There’s an old Zen saying that recommends everyone should set aside 20 minutes a day to meditate, while those who are too busy should “sit for an hour”. That Zen master clearly had no experience with children! However, meditation does not necessarily need to only involve sitting still for great stretches of time.
According to Sarah Meyer Tapia, a meditation coach, associate director of Health & Human Performance and head of Wellness Education at Stanford University, there is no right or wrong way to meditate. “Any activity can be meditative if we’re fully present,” she tells Forbes. “Meditation is to be present and know what we are doing, while we are doing it.” She advises noticing places that we are most at peace and comfort – whether it be in the shower, on walks, or hanging out with our pets – as the times to ensure that we are most present.
“Young children need short, fun activities to introduce them to concentration practice,” meditation teacher Wendelin Wagner tells Mindworks. “Using touch to focus attention is a great beginning technique.” She suggests the Toes to Nose game as a way of introducing kids to mindfulness, a technique that involves a guide using light touch to describe a bug working its way down their body. Older children can do a simplified, shortened version of the body scan – a practice that involves paying attention to breath and being aware of each part of our bodies, working up from feet to head.
The natural elasticity and freedom of children’s minds not only allows them to be present in the moment, but frees them from external pressures.
According to Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk and co-founder of Headspace – the app credited with playing a major role in propelling mindful meditation into the public consciousness – we may be greatly underestimating our kids’ capabilities.
“It’s almost as though meditation was designed for kids,” he says. “They just ‘get it’.” The natural elasticity and freedom of children’s minds not only allows them to be present in the moment, but frees them from external pressures: “By introducing meditation and mindfulness at an early age, not only can we build on this and help nurture their mind development, but we are also making meditation simple and accessible.”
TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
Headspace argues that introducing mindfulness from the age of three to four, when children have “acquired an awareness of themselves and others”, will begin to “teach them how to cultivate peace, happiness, and compassion for the rest of their lives”. Suggested practices include:
- walking while paying attention to sounds such as passing cars and rustling leaves, then once home talking about how it made the child feel.
- mindful eating to engage all the senses, asking the child to pay attention to food’s texture, shape, and smell, savouring it and noticing it as they chew and swallow.
- introducing them to simple breathing exercises and visualisations, focusing on the rise and fall of their bellies, imaging their favourite smell as they breathe in, and pretending blow out a candle with an exhale. And start small – just 10 breaths!
World-leading early learning organisation Begin (who also have an app, called Homer), say that introductory sessions should be as short as 30 seconds, and advise starting each one with some fun dancing or jogging on the spot to stretch the muscles and burn off some excess energy in preparation for some quiet time. As well as body scanning and mindful breathing exercises, they also suggest incorporating storytelling, using their favourite toys, people and places to allow them to focus on their body. Can they feel the softness of their sheets? Their favourite stuffed toy whispering “goodnight”? Other practical tips include:
- meeting the child where they are. There’s little point setting immovable goals that set children up for failure and risk turning them away from meditation. Start small and let them develop at their own pace.
- being consistent. It’s helpful to practise at the same time, in the same place, and even in the same clothes every day so that your child learns to associate those things with relaxation and mindfulness.
- keeping at it! It’s called mindful “practice” for good reason – it takes time and repetition to master. Meditation can be overwhelming even for adults, so accept that your child’s interest may ebb and flow, but stick with it, and the results will come in the end.
